1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the use of digit strings by a portable phone and, more particularly, to a system and method for creating a digit string for use by a portable phone from speech data including alphabetical characters.
2. Description of Related Art
It has become well known in the communications art to rely upon voice or speech signals to impart data and/or instructions to a terminal handset or portable phone. This is particularly useful in a vehicle or other similar environment when manual implementation of the communications device is limited or not practical. In such case, a person is able to merely speak the numerical digits desired and then verbally give a command (e.g., xe2x80x9cdialxe2x80x9d) as to how the digit string is to be utilized. Accordingly, the user of the phone need not direct his attention exclusively to the phone by looking at and pushing the desired keys.
While the aforementioned manner of voice dialing is helpful in most circumstances, it clearly is limited when alphabetical characters are involved. For example, many commercial entities attempt to procure a phone number which, when applied to the standard phone keypad, spell out the company name or provide some alphabetical or phonic association therewith. The dial string for placing a call may thus become better known by alphanumeric representation instead of the numerical digits alone. Moreover, advertising of the phone number in this manner (e.g., as with 800 numbers) further promotes memorization for future use.
Since current methods of voice dialing do not permit the input of alphabetical characters, it will be understood that no advantage is present over just looking at and pushing the keys of the phone for numbers consisting of alphanumeric characters. This can obviously be hazardous when a user is driving a vehicle and he desires to dial a number which includes alphabetical characters. Not only must he look at the keypad to manually enter the number, but each alphabetical character also requires mental decoding before doing so.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a system and method for creating a digit string for use by a phone from speech data including numerical digits and/or alphabetical characters.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method for converting speech data including alphabetical characters into numerical digits for inclusion in a digit string.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a telephone and method for safely dialing such telephone from speech data containing alphabetical characters while in a vehicle or other similar environment.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for storing speech data including numerical digits and/or alphabetical characters as a digit string in a speed dial location of a phone
These objects and other features of the present invention will become more readily apparent upon reference to the following description when taken in conjunction with the following drawings.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, a method of creating a digit string for use by a phone is disclosed as including the steps of collecting speech data having numerical digits and/or alphabetical characters, parsing the speech data, converting each alphabetical character of the speech data into a numerical digit associated therewith, and assembling the speech data chronologically to form a digit string consisting of numerical digits and/or converted alphabetical characters. The converting step further includes comparing each alphabetical character of the speech data to a mapping table stored in memory and determining a numerical digit corresponding to each alphabetical character of the speech data from the mapping table. Additional steps of the method may include determining whether each numerical digit and alphabetical character of the speech data is recognized, storing each numerical digit and converted alphabetical character of the digit string in a temporary memory location, editing the digit string, and displaying each numerical digit and converted alphabetical character of the digit string.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a method of dialing a telephone via voice activation is disclosed as including the steps of enabling a mode of a processing circuit in the telephone for receiving a dial string, speaking a plurality of numerical digits and/or alphabetical characters into the telephone, converting each spoken alphabetical character into a numerical digit associated therewith, assembling each spoken numerical digit and each converted alphabetical character chronologically as the dial string, and initiating a call on the telephone utilizing the dial string.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, a mobile telephone is disclosed as including circuitry for performing telephony operations, a microphone for receiving speech data, and a processing circuit for receiving the speech information and converting it into a corresponding digit string. Since the speech information includes numerical digits and/or alphabetical characters, a non-volatile memory is included for storing a look-up table containing a corresponding numerical digit for each alphabetical character. The mobile telephone may also include a volatile memory for temporarily storing the dial string to enable editing, as well as a display for depicting each numerical digit and each converted alphabetical character of the dial string.
In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, a system for creating a digit string from speech data received by a telephone is disclosed, where the speech data includes numerical digits and/or alphabetical characters. The system includes a non-volatile memory for storing a look-up table of corresponding numerical digits for each alphabetical character and a processing circuit for receiving and converting the speech data to a digit string having a plurality of numerical digits in chronological order. The processing circuit converts each alphabetical character of the speech data into a numerical digit. Additionally, the system may include a volatile memory for temporarily storing the digit string and a display connected to the processing circuit for depicting each numerical digit and converted alphabetical character of the digit string.